Simplexity of the mind

Saturday, 28 November 2015

And the world,he said, is mine,The rider who just went behind,And it has been quite some time,since he passed,On a white horse he was,crowned with gold,carrying bow and arrows,The world, he thought, would be at rest,and away he went thinking it was a conquest,The dead would have no religion, he thought,but they made him realise soon,for no reason he fought.

Now, red as blood,There was a horse,and upon it, a rider,willing to end all wars,Armed with a shiny sword, he slain,and maimed with all his might,the wrong and the right,the coloured and the black & white,This cruel shredding ending in vain,because tomorrow they'll be closer to midnight.

Then came on a black horse,a weak one with scales, asking for food,He was on a diseased course,and you can tell he was looking no goodWith him, he brought,a handful of epidemics, and across the world,a cruel drought,He thought they'll die,from the dreaded famine,And oh, they fought,over an ironical vaccine

Follows him, an ashen horse,and upon it a rider with no remorse,For he is death,in its true sense,Has no religion, this one,And cares for all,just once,Living or not,nothing hurts the immortal of the lot,He fails to fail to any disease,because the truth is inevitable,even if you don't please.

Saturday, 3 September 2011

Once I met Leonardo da Vinci, many years ago. I was actually
having my breakfast, when he knocked my door that morning. He wanted to show me
his latest invention at that time, the Time Machine.

At that time almost the whole world was waiting for such a kind
of thing, and why not? Many of them wanted to see how future looked like, and
most of them were interested to see the world after the end of Mayan calendar,
etc.

Well da Vinci had my day, and I too was all over him for his
new invention. I was too excited as he selected me to perform his practical,
but a little scared too. So, I stepped into his time machine and he pushed a
lever, the machine made a motoring sound. At that time, I thought for once,
that why would da Vinci want to see the future. He said, “OK, 3…2…1”, and he
pressed some levers, moved a couple of gears, clockwise and anticlockwise in
absurd manner. He asked me where did I want to go, and I replied, “I want to be
a gladiator of the future”. And then, I closed my eyes, because I was getting
too scared, and then I felt a ride. My eyes were closed until the zooming motor
sound ended, and when I opened my eyes minutes later, there was no da Vinci.
Instead, there were lights all around, a few over my head, and the rest
flashing all around. Someone then announced, “And on the other end, we have the
heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson”. I then saw how the gladiators in future
looked like… A gong sounded thrice, and suddenly I realized that I had a vast
knowledge of punching and boxing. I started this first round with deadly combos
of punches, jabs and uppercuts, and without getting hit even a single time by
the heavyweight champion, I knocked him out in the first round only. I then
watched his lifeless-seeming body and thought how would’ve he felt after losing
against an amateur debutant. I would’ve surely committed a suicide if I was
him.

So, I decided now to return to da Vinci and tell him my
experiences of the future, but, the ground beneath me swept off as I saw the
machine disappear in front of my eyes. And then suddenly, the earth started
shaking, water streams smashing inside through the arena windows, there was
chaos everywhere, But I stood still, as if I was waiting for what was
happening, and then a huge tsunami like splash hit me very hard, and took me
away with it… and then, I opened my eyes, only to realize that I was dreaming,
and in front of me, was sitting Leonardo diCaprio, with his famous dream
machine that he used in “inception”.

“Oh God”, I said, “I should’ve known this”… a conversation
started as follows:

Me: What did you incept now?

DiCaprio: I made Tyson quit boxing.

Me: What did you get from it?

DiCaprio: I had some land and property issues with the
boxer, If he’d quit boxing, he can only invest by selling his property, that’ll
automatically come to me.

Me: Who was da Vinci then?

diCaprio: Your projection of an intellectual man in your
dream.

Me: Where were you in the dream?

diCaprio: Didn’t you see the names- Leonardo diCaprio and
Leonardo da Vinci?

Me: And the time machine?

diCaprio: That was your projection too, of a dream machine.

Me: So the boxing match was a dream?

diCaprio: Yes.

Me: So, it was a dream within a dream?

diCaprio: No! It was a dream within a dream within dream…

Mom: C’mon son, you need to get up now, you’re already late
for the college…now you get up or I’ll call your father to give you a thrash
before breakfast.

Dad: (shouting) This boy watches boxing all night and then
sleeps then and there on the couch, and waking up late in the morning…………..

And then I opened the newspaper, to see the sports section
headline, that said, “MIKE TYSON QUITS BOXING, SELLS LAND TO HOLLYWOOD ACTOR
diCAPRIO FOR FUTURE INVESTMENTS”…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PS:
I knew this was boring… ;) :P

Thursday, 11 August 2011

I was just wondering what all this Babri masjid issue is about, randomly thinking about the socio-political issues of the country. And Since I wanted to write something short this time, I chose a topic about which I didn’t know much.

So what was I wondering- The Babri Mosque. It has been one of the hottest topics in present times among the seculars, Hindutva-vadis, The Waqf board, and the Nirmohi Akhara. Hey! Wait! What the hell an akhara group has to do with this issue? Just this one I didn’t understand. It seems that everyone wants his share, as if gold coins are raining, and everyone wants to take a bath in it. This issue had never been clear to me, thanks to my news-resisting mindset, and when the verdict came on it a year ago, it caused confusion, chaos and havoc in my mind. And here I tell you the sequence of thoughts that came to my mind just after reading the Newspaper published the next day after “The Ayodhya Verdict” of September 30th, 2010.

During my childhood days, I once thought that why my school closed on 6th of December each year?? My parents never allowed me to get out of the house ranging from three to four days in the vicinity of 6th December. All this continued till the same day of the year 1996, when I took up the newspaper for the first time in my life. At that time, a curfew was imposed at a few places in the city. I never cared about it. So, while reading the newspaper, with a dictionary besides me, I found out the meanings of the words in the sequence as- religious, conflict, temple, mosque, demolition, riots, mass killings, curfew, arrested, etc…

And since then, what I came to know about the matter was that once upon a time a Muslim ruler built up a mosque on a place that was believed to be the birthplace of Lord Rama, a Hindu God, which was later on demolished by a group of secular people, which resulted in uncontrollable riots and instability among the two leading religious groups of the country, causing huge losses to both humans and economy… blah...blah...blah.

When I thought about it today, I felt that all the above is a complete dump of shit.

First of all, speaking in favour of the orthodox Muslims:

What was the need to demolish the mosque even if it was on the sacred birthplace of lord Rama? Couldn’t the temple be built at any place near the mosque, as if the Hindu views are hurt if the epicentre of the place doesn’t coincide with the foundation of the temple, or, is it that you are quite sure that this was the same metre square where Lord Rama came out of his mother’s womb as if you were sitting there at the time of Rama’s birth.

Alright, if we believe that there was a temple before the mosque was built, then why didn’t you people raise your voice at the time of Babur’s building of a mosque, after all, they were your great grand fathers. But, No! You have to do what you like, and to add to your misbehaviour, you kept the idols of your Lord secretly inside the mosque, even after knowing that our religion doesn’t allow the worship of idols. This country has always been biased towards the Hindus; after all, the name says it- Hindustan. Just look at the literacy rate of the largest minority group, their education standards, treatment from other people of the country- as if we don’t belong to this country, this place has never been ours. And when you need political supports, we are always the favourites. Why us???

Now the orthodox Hindu view:

What is a mosque after all? It is only a place or a facility provided to you to offer Namaz, which, as written in Quran, can be offered anywhere, even in the open atmosphere, all you need is a clean environment, then why does the demolition of a mosque or two creates this much hype. Even the mosque where Prophet Mohammed offered his prayers, in Saudi Arabia, has been demolished for a mere reason to construct roads and buildings. Where did your “great grandfather” concern slept at that time? Now it has been even proved that the Babri mosque was built only after a Temple was destroyed at that place, the evidence too supports us. Moreover there is no comparison of a temple and a mosque in terms of religious views. It is a necessity for us, but for you it is a facility, so we always have the upper edge.

Now the question of support... Whenever you needed us, we supported. It was you only who always had a pessimistic view towards the things. We gave everything you wanted, from reservation to education. It was us only who supported you when the British turned your lives into living hell. Although things took time, but we always treated you people as our own brothers.

So, after looking all this, if the Allahabad high court gave such a decision that was completely unbiased, there was no point in appealing to the supreme court for further action. The General Public still wonders that what these religious groups want from the Government and from each other. The decision of the High Court was based on facts of the ASI as well as beliefs of the people; after all, beliefs form the core of any religion. We too agree with the crisis of Muslims in India, and know that both the groups are bounded by their religion, and are correct in each point of view. But a country, especially a democratic one, cannot choose a single way, as that would give the same result as back in 1992, when a flawed government took the decisions.

But still, we can’t control everyone. There are people in this country, who are free from any work, and if directed or sparked, they can cause severe damage to the society, economy and democracy of the country.

Tuesday, 9 August 2011

It was not quite long ago when I took admission in the National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, an institute governed by the central Government. But it was obvious that I did attempt for getting admitted in the apex institutes of the country- The Indian Institutes of Technology. Who doesn't want to? It is an immaculate desire of each and every Science-Maths student to get into them, but not everyone gets through their Entrance examinations.
First of all, what impression does one make of a Government college when he or she hears the name? "That is one good college where I can pursue Engineering" or "I will get a very good Education over there" and the best "Oh!! Pursuing engineering has never been so cheap!!". Some even think of making an impression on their Competitors in the pre-Engineering years. Again, What image does an Engineer form in the mind of public?- "An Engineer is a Person who is free from any work during his college days and then after it, he gets loads and loads of Handsome Job offers". But, let me tell you- Engineering is not like running a hot knife over the butter frozen by your mom, and what makes it worse is the present education system in India.
So, back in 2008, when I first attempted for the IIT-JEE, I was quite sure that I would not make it through this time, although my position in the other attempted examinations was fair enough to take admissions in some of the good engineering colleges, my father even went for it, and I was taken to one of the counselling. But I had other plans. I wanted something else, something Beautiful... I wanted One More Chance, because I knew that I had it in me. Friends, this is the lust of the IITs, you cannot run away from it. I turned my father's mind there itself in the counselling hall and I was back... Yes! I got a chance now. Until that time, I had fell in love with Physics, and just wanted to study it all the time. I joined a coaching class, that would train me for a complete year just to get through the IIT-JEE. I enjoyed studying all the three subjects that complete year. That year- the DROP year, changed me, my mental state, my attitude towards studies, and changed my life as a student. I just wanted to study all the time... New books, new questions, new concepts, as if I wanted to learn, expertise, and master every topic I could, and then came the time, when I was needed to show my knowledge, pour out my concepts, and I was quite confident of cracking the JEE. On the examination day- woke up early, donated all the books to my neighbour, had a light breakfast, got up ready, reached my test centre... and now- comes the feeling, the frenzy feeling that starts from the end of your spine, and then grooves in your head round and round... But as soon as I saw the paper, Ha! What a relief, It was like I found the Gold. What an easy paper the first one was, I was sure of scoring well in that. During the break before second paper, I had already dreamt of riding a cycle in the green fields of IIT-K, playing badminton with my cousin, and then returning hostel together... But, it was yet very far away, and I was well aware of that. Now, this time, without any nervousness, confidence that was overflowing of my mind, and the feeling of being in the first quadrant, I thought- "Oh what an easy paper this will be.. hahaha... fuck IIT-G, do they have any sense of testing a genius like me??". I went into the exam hall... and three hours later when I came out... it seemed that the whole world has moved upside down, every feeling reversed its gear, and went back into the third quadrant. Then I realized that it was not the confidence that was overflowing... It was the Overconfidence that flew... I felt shameful, pity, helpless... and I felt as if that fucking IIT-G kicked my ass as hard as it could. Everything was finished, my goal wasn't reached and It was visible from my body language, and hence I did not need to tell my parents what happened in the Hall. Everything was over, finished... my dream, my cycle, my badminton, those green fields at IIT-K... everything. I was so hurt that I never even looked at my dearest friends- my books until all the other entrance examinations were over. All of them went pretty good and I was sure of securing a very good rank in the others, and It was pretty obvious that my failure in the IIT-JEE gave me the confidence of succeeding in others, but I Was Still Unhappy... reason- The same Lust... And that is the reason I have never been content.
Now, A New Beginning-
I learned a lesson- Failures are the pillars to success, and I looked forward to the NITs. A respectable rank in the AIEEE helped me secure a seat in Chemical Engineering at Maulana Azad NIT, Bhopal. I felt nice, but unsatisfied. You can't get what you want every time, and you can't love what you live, but this is Life... isn't it?
So, It was a Government college, where I stepped in, and not the IIT. I thought I would have wonderful, kind, intelligent, helping, caring, and friendly lecturers and professors. But the equation here was completely on a different track.
It did not take many hours before I came to know about the surprisingly bad standards of the complete system of the college. Right from the administration to the faculty, everyone is corrupt, blank, and not to say- idiots… although anybody could hint that from the “never updated” website of the college. As I proceed further in this blog, I remind you that it is not just one college that has been affected by the corrupt education system of India, in fact each and every college apart from the IITs has been unfair and I do feel that they can never ever recover. Just look around yourself, and then you’ll see what is famously called- “Mushrooming” of the Engineering colleges. Friends, I say it again; Engineering is not as easy as you say it. So, let us continue, The Chemical Engineering Department was a new one in the college, but we didn’t have even a single Faculty that held the degree of Chemical Engineering in his or her lifetime. Although it was a new department, but you cannot sustain it without its proper faculty, even for an hour, but that’s the way things are carried out since last three to four years. Can we do something about it??... Not in my opinion.
Even if you try to forget about the faculty for some time, the very next lecture would change your mind once again. I went to Chemical Engineering classes for about 50 days, but what I found was that you have to mug up each and everything, nothing goes along with concepts, you are forced to learn whatever the Lecturer has told you. And if you dare to go for some other resource apart from the teacher’s source of learning, then you have to pay for it in the examinations. The 50th night in my College, Somebody told that the branches have been reshuffled without prior notice to anybody. I tried my luck and found that I was transferred to Electrical Engineering department, one of the oldest departments of the college. I was Happy again. Straight From the depressing effects of Chemical Engineering to the best department of the college, as the students here called it.
But as soon as I stepped into the Electrical Classroom, and the first lecture went off, I realized that even the presence of experienced faculty can’t help. Now I knew that this college will destruct me, my mental state, my confidence, and my learning style… oh! Not the learning style, because you still don’t have to learn, you have to RECTIFY. I never thought this would happen, I thought that a centrally governed college would surely enhance my learning skills, but now I am in the third year and have been broken up 4 times already in the end semesters, mostly because the teachers don’t like my conceptual answers. They want what they say, If things aren’t going their way, they aren’t going your way. Many Professors I found here have a tendency to examine the copy on their own mood.
Well, now I have given up, Marks don’t matter, at least for me. I am here for Engineering, and that’s what I’ll do. These Rascals can take their balls and go home and do whatever they like. It is not going to affect me. I can’t mug up things and vomit them on the paper, and hence, I am satisfied with my performance over here. Today itself, I was talking to a junior, and he said- “The people here have made my life a living hell”. It is rightly said that the environment you live in, affects your personality and thoughts adversely, and this can be noticed from the learning style of the students here. But, I have not changed, probably because that one change in the DROP year was enough for me. I once talked about it with my cousin at IIT-K, and he told me what he was told over there at the time of his orientation that, “The IIT-JEE is a test that separates Engineers from the crowd”. Well this harsh statement is really true. I have talked to many of my friends in state technical university colleges, and they too have the same system. What is the need of a government college if it is “Government” by name only??
So, guys, this Engineering world is not as it looks like, If you want to go for it then there is no alternative to the best. It is only your demand for pursuing this course that has caused the mushrooming of the Engineering colleges.
It is not the view of a pessimistic person, it is the view of an optimist turned into pessimist by the education system
Gary Kirsten once said – “There are two categories of batsmen, one contains Sachin Tendulkar, and the other category contains the rest”, and I feel like saying it like this – “There are two categories of institutes, one contains the IITs and the other contains the rest”.